FILe - In this Oct. 1, 2015, file photo, Atlanta Braves general manager John Coppolella speaks during a baseball news conference at Turner Field in Atlanta. Coppolella has resigned from his position, the Braves announced on Monday afternoon, Oct. 2, 2017 (Hyosub Shin/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, File) ORG XMIT: GAATJ501 less

FILe - In this Oct. 1, 2015, file photo, Atlanta Braves general manager John Coppolella speaks during a baseball news conference at Turner Field in Atlanta. Coppolella has resigned from his position, the Braves ... more

Photo: Hyosub Shin

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FILE - In this Sept. 28, 2014, file photo, New York Yankees' Derek Jeter speaks to the media after the last baseball game of his career, against the Boston Red Sox, at Fenway Park in Boston. Two people familiar with the vote say major league owners have approved the sale of the Miami Marlins by Jeffrey Loria to an investment group led by Bruce Sherman and Derek Jeter. The people confirmed the vote to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2017, because the approval had not been announced. One of the people said the vote was unanimous, with 75 percent approval needed. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File) ORG XMIT: NY192 less

FILE - In this Sept. 28, 2014, file photo, New York Yankees' Derek Jeter speaks to the media after the last baseball game of his career, against the Boston Red Sox, at Fenway Park in Boston. Two people familiar ... more

Photo: Steven Senne

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Atlanta GM forced to resign

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Atlanta

John Coppolella was forced to resign as Braves general manager Monday after an investigation by Major League Baseball revealed serious rules violations in the international player market.

Gordon Blakeley, a special assistant to the GM who was the team's international scouting chief, also has resigned.

Braves president John Hart will take over GM duties while the team searches for a full-time replacement.

Hart said the Braves cooperated when they first learned of the investigation "in the past couple weeks." He wouldn't reveal details of the rules violations but he did say they did not involve criminal activity.

Hart didn't know if the Braves would be penalized by MLB. But he acknowledged there was no agreement with the league for lesser organizational penalties in exchange for Coppolella's resignation.

"We didn't bargain, if you will, on that," Hart said. "The decision that was made here internally was it just wasn't right and it wasn't going to fit for what worked with the Braves going forward."

Marlins: Derek Jeter's group closed on its purchase of Miami on Monday, and he and new controlling owner Bruce Sherman will speak publicly for the first time about the deal at a news conference Tuesday. Major league owners last week unanimously approved the $1.2 billion sale of the franchise by Jeffrey Loria to the investment group led by Jeter and Sherman. The closing came one day after the Marlins concluded their eighth consecutive losing season, the longest streak in the majors. Among issues to be addressed by the new owners will be the future of major league home run and RBI champion Giancarlo Stanton, whose salary will nearly double next year to $25 million next year, which could make him unaffordable for the revenue-challenged franchise. Also in question are the status of manager Don Mattingly and president of baseball operations Michael Hill. Loria became widely unpopular because of his frugal ownership. He bought the franchise for $158.5 million in 2002 from John Henry, part of the current Boston Red Sox ownership group. Jeter, who played on five World Series champions with the New York Yankees, will head baseball and business operations for a team that hasn't been to the playoffs since 2003. He has about a 4 percent stake in the ownership group.

Tigers: First baseman Miguel Cabrera has long been an idol to baseball-playing youths in his native Venezuela, and now the 11-time All Star is a hero off the field as well after bailing out a team of young players who had been kept from going to a regional tournament by their country's economic crisis. Venezuela's Baseball Federation on Monday confirmed that the under-10 national team was heading to the tournament in northern Mexico. It's unclear if the tournament organizers will reschedule three games that were forfeited when the team missed them. But the young players seem thrilled just to be making the journey. Prior to boarding their flight they tweeted a video thanking Cabrera.